Ancient Blood Pool

Han Qingxue glanced at Lu Chen in surprise. "It seems you've been to their camp. I suspect Ji Wujue wants to use the power of the Ancient Demon to ascend!"

"To release the Ancient Demon?"

Han Qingxue shook her head, indicating she didn't know.

"By the way, Miss Han, do you have any Blood Jade? If so..."

"I'm sorry, we really don't!" Han Qingxue smiled apologetically. "We've used it all. Every bit of extra strength here means a greater chance of survival."

"However, you could try looking in Nether Blood Valley. You might find an opportunity there, but be wary of King Yanbei's people. They often operate there. It's marked on the map!"

"King Yanbei? Aren't they from the Blood Spirit Sect?"

"Oh, they take turns guarding. It seems to be the Blood Spirit Sect's turn now!"

Lu Chen cupped his hands slightly and took a couple of steps to turn away, then suddenly said:

"Miss Han, I'm looking for someone. Do you know anyone named 'Yun Niang'?"

"I've heard of her, but I haven't seen her. She apparently worked as a ferrywoman, but her whereabouts are unknown now. Why, do you know her?"

Lu Chen nodded. "We're sort of friends!"

"If I hear any news about her, I'll let you know... Where are you from?" Han Qingxue changed the subject.

"Yanjing, Tianyan Academy!"

"You were tricked into going there?"

"Huh? Huh?" Lu Chen froze, stammering, "You've met a senior from Tianyan Academy?"

"Hmph, that old man isn't a good person. I almost fell for his trick and joined Tianyan. I heard they don't even have living quarters there!"

Lu Chen gave an awkward laugh. "That's true, but it's different now. It's been restored quite a bit!"

Han Qingxue's eyes flickered. "Tianyu would agree to that?"

Lu Chen patted his chest. "I fought my way out and brought back nine Will Statues!"

Han Qingxue looked him up and down, then broke into a smile. Lu Chen felt the air around him instantly become more lively.

"I didn't realize you were so capable!"

Lu Chen laughed heartily. "I've always been capable, no matter where I am. Also, Miss Han, you actually look very beautiful when you smile, haha..."

His voice still lingered as Lu Chen vanished from the cellar, leaving behind four words after his laughter: "We'll meet again if fate allows."

Han Qingxue didn't understand Lu Chen's words at first. When she came to her senses, she spat and cursed, "What a scoundrel."

Nether Blood Valley is located northwest of the Blood Fiend Battlefield, flanked by two mountain peaks shaped like fangs.

Gale Force howled at the valley entrance, whipping up blood mist that condensed into distorted human faces, their shrieks piercing the eardrums.

Lu Chen stood on the ridge, looking down. The blood pool at the bottom of the valley spanned a thousand zhang, its viscous blood churning like boiling water.

Pale white bone fragments floated on the surface. Bubbles occasionally burst, splashing blood droplets that etched bowl-sized pits into the rocks.

"Ancient Blood Pool..." Lu Chen glanced down at the map.

The resonance from the blood pool below made his heart race, his blood feeling as if it were about to boil.

He bypassed several depressions hidden with poisonous miasma and suddenly spotted several black tents erected on the east side of the blood pool.

Outside the tents, over thirty black-robed cultivators were controlling Blood Puppets to dredge for Blood Jade. Those puppets had red lights flashing on their chests, their arms transforming into shovels as they mechanically scooped blood mud from the pool's edge into iron buckets.

Blood mist billowed from a bronze cauldron in the center of the camp, its body inscribed with mysterious runes that suppressed vengeful spirits.

"Blood Spirit Sect?" Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and sneered.

Three Golden Core cultivators were present, with the rest mostly at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Such a lineup could stop others, but not him, this malevolent star.

Three clones differentiated themselves from his body, each carrying a furnace and quietly approaching.

His main body circled to the rear of the camp, the Qi of his Soul Severing Saber surging like a coiled viper.

Just then, a gust of foul wind swept by, and the Blood Puppets' movements momentarily froze.

This was the moment!

Four figures erupted like lightning.

The clone on the left hurled its furnace. Energy erupted from the furnace's mouth, blasting five Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with their puppets, into dust.

The clone on the right swept its saber Qi. Before the tent flaps even fell, the cultivators inside were decapitated.

The central clone was even more ferocious. It directly shattered the Golden Core cultivator's protective spiritual light and inverted its furnace, dragging the opponent into the furnace.

"Enemy attack!" The remaining two Golden Core cultivators' eyes widened in fury. One formed a hand seal to summon the Nine Yin Soul Locking Chain, while the other waved a banner to summon a hundred decaying corpses.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen's main body had already flashed to the side of the bronze cauldron. His saber tip flicked away the cauldron lid, revealing the churning blood mud within.

"Good stuff!" He patted the Azure Dragon Cauldron.

The bronze cauldron, along with the blood mud inside, vanished, completely absorbed into the Asura Furnace.

In the instant he turned, he shattered the incoming Soul Locking Chain with a single slash and, using the momentum, spun and kicked away the decaying corpse. His three clones seized the opportunity to surround them.

The Furnace's energy erupted with a rumble. Before the two Golden Core cultivators could crush their communication talismans, they were violently blasted and plunged into the blood pool.

Amidst their shrill screams, their physical bodies disappeared at a visible rate, turning into pale skeletons before sinking into the blood pool.

Seeing this, Lu Chen shivered uncontrollably. He then collected his thoughts and, working with his three clones, began a merciless slaughter of the remaining individuals.

Half an incense stick later, only scorched earth remained of the camp.

Lu Chen weighed the Golden Core fragments he had just refined in the Furnace and looked up at the churning blood pool.

This blood pool was terrifying. Even Golden Core experts couldn't get out after falling in.

Plop!

He leaped into the blood pool. The moment the viscous blood touched his body, its corrosive power felt like ten thousand ants gnawing at his bones.

His protective blood qi crackled, and his skin visibly rotted and dissipated.

The Qi and Blood Furnace spun violently, pure qi and blood surging from his dantian to every limb and vein, his newly formed flesh and blood engaging in a tug-of-war with the corrosive force.

Simultaneously, the Myriad Manifestations Furnace formed a phantom image that enveloped him.

The corrosive force was blocked from the outside, only causing ripples on the phantom image of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace.

Lu Chen's heart leaped with joy.

He descended ten feet, and the pressure increased dramatically.

Countless transparent worms floated in the blood, lunging at him.

But the moment they touched the Furnace's phantom image, they were all refined into pure energy.

He descended another twenty feet and suddenly saw that the bottom of the pool was covered in blood-red crystals. The largest one was as big as a millstone, with naturally formed, mysterious patterns on its surface.

"A complete Blood Jade!"

Lu Chen's heart trembled violently.

The Furnace expanded like a giant whale swallowing the sea.

The blood-red energy overflowing from the collapsing crystals poured into his meridians, and the depths of his body began to heat up, his skin taking on a jade-like luster.

His bones cracked and popped, his physical strength of nine hundred bulls increasing by leaps and bounds.

One thousand, one thousand two hundred, one thousand five hundred...

It didn't stop until it reached two thousand.

He clenched his fist, and with a boom, the blood pool churned up a massive wave.

The power of a single grip was terrifying.

Combined with the level bonus, his strength had reached a terrifying four thousand bulls.

It was almost the strength of a peak Golden Core Realm expert.

Hoo!

Lu Chen took a deep breath.

Just as he was about to seize the last Blood Jade, his expression suddenly changed.

The rock layer at the bottom of the pool suddenly collapsed, and a giant claw covered in scales emerged from the blood-red vortex.

The overflowing pressure was like a mountain collapsing, forcing the Furnace back into his body.

"An Ancient Demon Remnant Limb?" Lu Chen's pupils contracted sharply. The power of his newly born bloodline condensed into a vortex in his palm.

He formed his fingers into a fist, and his entire body's qi and blood surged towards his right arm like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. His skin, unable to withstand the immense energy, tore and flew off.

"Earth Shattering Collapse Fist!"

The moment his fist touched the scales, a blinding blood-red light exploded.

The ferocious fist energy penetrated through the gaps in the scales, plowing spiderweb-like cracks into the hundred-foot-thick rock layer.

The giant claw let out a howl and retracted into the vortex. The scattered scales were swept up and refined by the Furnace.

The backlash power also erupted. Lu Chen's entire right arm twisted and deformed, its flesh and blood gone.

Bare white bones hung with a few strands of blood. The intense pain made his vision go black.

What was worse was the terrifying corrosion of the blood water. In an instant, his entire body was covered in blood.